A King’s Ransom: Masters of Pleasure # 1 by Regan Hawk

AudioBook Review:

A touch of the otherworldly with initially bizarre influences of ancient Roman attitudes, this sci-fi erotic romance is fast-paced, dramatic and well-developed keeping readers wanting more. The historical influence is felt in some of the constraints on the citizens of the worlds: Panucia had advanced technology, but the leaders of the variant territories banned their use, as well as intergalactic travel.

Slavery, gladiator games and other bloodsports are common and popular, prostitution is rife in the lower classes, and much like today some territories and people are more cruel and harsh in their punishments than others.

Surinia is well-heeled and raised to be independent and thoughtful. When she takes up for the cruel punishment of a slave, her life changes and she sees the cruelty and despicable acts that heretofore had been beyond her notice.

Kritan, a Kartarian half man-half beast is on a mission to find his estranged brother. Caught in a trap, he is enslaved and rescued by the lovely Surinia. As she questions and learns more about this intriguing man, she agrees to help him escape: yet he uses her as a captive.

The story winds through backstory, intrigue, political machinations and some seriously hot and steamy moments, with scenes of ménage and some dance about the lines of dubious consent. A bit more ‘take charge and push the boundaries than many may be comfortable with, this sci-fi romp does bring plot and purpose to the story and gives solid reasoning to the choices.

Narration is provided by David Benjamin Bliss and he manages to navigate all of the changes in characters, emotion, personality and threat with aplomb: creating distinct voices for each character with changes in pitch, tone and delivery. Small inflection changes add tension or emotion as required by the text, and the narration never overwhelms or directs the story that is being told.

A wonderfully fun sci-fi romp that dances on the edge of propriety, but keeps readers and listeners wanting more of the world and the beings that live there.

On a quest to find his brother, King Kritan of Katarian on the planet of Panucia finds himself ambushed, beaten, tortured and then sold to fight in the arena games. The people of Tamonius--his rival kingdom--condone slavery, take public sex to new lows and try to turn a profit off anything they can. Nothing can change his hatred for everything Tamonius... that is until he meets the most breathtakingly beautiful woman he's ever laid eyes upon. Surina of the House of Argyros, daughter to a powerful senator stirs the beast within him, making it want to lay claim to her as badly as the man does.

From Captive to King...

Free or not, Kritan is a master of seduction and has selected Surina as his newest prey. But this virginal beauty has secrets of her own--ones that change everything. And destiny just might have the last laugh.

Warning: Novel contains graphic violence, explicit sex, MF and MFM scenes, forced seduction, raw and gritty scenes of a society without order, sex scenes that may be offense to some, an alpha male shifter king who sees what he wants and goes for it, all else be damned, a head guard who has many secrets but shares a passion for the heroine and a virginal heroine who has longed to be taken rough and claimed fully by a man. This novel is not for everyone or the faint of heart.

A copy of this title was provided via Audio Producer for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

About Mandy M. Roth

Mandy M. Roth grew up fascinated by creatures that go bump in the night. From the very beginning, she showed signs of creativity. At age five, she had her first piece of artwork published. Writing came into play early in her life as well. Over the years, the two mediums merged and led her to work in marketing. Combining her creativity with her passion for horror has left her banging on the keyboard into the wee hours of the night. Mandy lives with her husband and three children on the shores of Lake Erie, where she is currently starting work on her Master's Degree. She was nominated for Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine's Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Paranormal Erotic.

Mandy has topped the Amazon bestselling charts more than once and has a loyal and steady following. She does cover art under the brush name Natalie Winters and is very involved with helping authors learn to market their books. In 2009 she and fellow author Michelle M. Pillow started their own self-publishing endeavor named The Raven Books. It spawned from the name of a nightclub in Mandy's wildly popular Daughter of Darkness Series. In July 2010 they opened The Raven Books to third party distribution and by Dec 2011 had sold WELL over 150,000 ebooks.